Flickers of Fieflies
by usagi-strike
Summary: With the death of a King comes the rise of another... no one said it had to be a guy, though. Yata x OC x Fushimi (one of which is... not one-sided, and the other... also not so one-sided) This is NOT BL! Straight-forward romance between two straight guys and a girl.
1. Darkness Falls

**CHAPTER 1**

**I was so sure I would only do DGM fanfics, but then I got this idea, since I just finished watching the anime a few days back (why hasn't season 2 come out yet!?), so yeah. If people are OOC, oh wells. If you know me, you know I can't seem to identify/judge people's character that well.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (whose names are not yet known to me at the moment, just keep reading, it'll come eventually; pretty obvious though, since you won't know who the fuck they are).**

**these things count as line breaks → OxO**

Darkness Falls

Darkness descended upon the city, and with it, the laws that bound those graced with powers granted by the Seven Kings constricting its ever-tightening noose. With the recent death of three Kings, however, there was a great deal of confusion, which allowed for minute pockets of breathing space in the noose.

The breathing room wasn't much, but it was enough, and there were those few who managed to slip free of the noose every now and then.

The young boy was not one of those lucky few.

His breath coming out in short, labored fits and bursts, the boy stumbled along the dark alley, dark eyes fearfully glancing behind for a glimpse of his unknown pursuer. Heart pounding out a mad tune in his furiously heaving chest, the young boy—a teenager, actually, perhaps fourteen at the most—threw himself behind a dumpster, quickly covering his mouth with one grimy, dirt-encrusted hand so as to stop his panting from being overheard.

There was nothing behind him, no sounds. Just utter silence, except for the oddly frantic beating of his heart and the whoosh of blood flowing too quickly through his veins. With a shudder, he wrapped his trembling hands around his suddenly tight chest, drew his legs closer to himself as he fell into fetal position, the strange pain in his chest blossoming and spreading.

And thus it was like this that he died, the seconds dragging on into minutes as the red moon rose up higher in the sky, unsympathetic to the final moments of his plight.

**OvO**

**Damn, there's a whole buttloada implicit yaoi… yay on the goldmine of mishimi pics I found on google images, hahah. Was actually looking for normal pics of the two for this fic, but hey, what the hell!**

**Well, if you noticed, that first paragraph was total and utter BS. Actually, this entire chapter was utter BS— improv, actually—since I didn't have a good way to lead into the actual stuff I had planned, but with this… I got something! So this was actually a good chapter, a needed one, I think. Though yall can feel free to think of this as a prologue.**

**Never thought I'd write a scene where someone would just crawl into a corner to die.**

**Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Reviews, faves, follows and whatnot much appreciated, ne?**


	2. A New Addition to the Scepter's Holdings

**CHAPTER 2**

**FIRST ORDER OF IMPORTANCE! Many thanks to ****The Witch of Dreams (cool name!), Karde, and hakezu for favoriting (and FOLLOWING, in hakezu's case!)~! So happy. Imma use your names somewhere now, heheh… Ah, and also, to that guest reviewer whose review mysteriously disappeared…? Look at the new summary, you whose name I don't know, and keep reading! **

**There's lotsa stuff I don't know bout, since they've not mentioned it in the anime and I've yet to go read the prequel manga yet (damn!), so if there're weird stuff that doesn't match up with preexisting shit (not to mention lotsa OOC imposters, heheh)… gomen ne!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (found out their names now, they're gonna be Hotaru and Hibiki, and then that one guy that died last chapter).**

**OxO**

A New Addition to the Scepter's Holdings

Fushimi Saruhiko's day had progressed from bad to worse.

It had started off per usual—or what could be as usual as it could get, with the recent deaths of three Kings—as he'd avoided the day's newest mound of paperwork and reports, using his subordinates as human shields as he dodged the ever-watchful eyes—and sword—of the Tundra Woman, as that other idiot had dubbed her.

Usually, he managed to elude her through unexpected escape plans and sheer dumb luck, but, after five hours of constant nocturnal evasion and no coffee, Fushimi's imaginative well had run dry, and, rather than smile, it seemed as if Fortuna had decided to leer at him that morning.

And thus did he find himself in the holding cells of Scepter 4, forcing a bored-yet-attentive look of nonchalance as a pair of angry eyes—more wisteria or thistle than purple—bored their annoyance and contempt into the back of his head.

Avoiding eye contact, Fushimi looked down at the papers Awashima had handed to him earlier. His lips twisted slightly as he remembered the stink eye she'd given him after handing him the folder, and what little that remained of his good mood left over from the night before dissipated (though if he was being truthful, he hadn't been in anything resembling a "good" mood since his attempt to beat the snot out of Misaki a month ago). The new string of murders wasn't doing much to help the situation.

Neither was the person standing in the holding behind him either, for that matter.

"I'd like to get outta here, if you don't mind."

With an inaudible sigh of annoyance, he turned to face the person standing in the cell. With long hair more ruby in color than red that fell past a leggy, curvaceous body that made his crotch jump to rigid, painful attention, the girl—well, young woman, actually, since she looked to be eighteen or so—in the cell was quite a sight, especially for someone who was surrounded by men nearly 24/7. The effect of the sight of her body _was_ diminished slightly by the malevolent glare she directed at him, though, which made it somewhat easier to think with his head rather than his cock.

Fushimi amended that thought when the girl crossed her arms over her chest, which looked like it was a good-sized B+ cup.

"My face is up here, dumbass." When Fushimi's eyes went to the right place, he noted the small smirk dancing across her full lips.

She wasn't all that offended by his attention, then.

"How bout giving me my pass outta here?" she demanded, raising an eyebrow at him.

"That depends," he murmured as he looked down at the immense packet of papers in his hand, flipping past the first few pages of useless information to the most recent murder. Forefront on the page was a snapshot of one Takuma Igarashi, age fourteen, with a dark visage and fair complexion. Despite having a relatively close family—they lived about two towns over—he'd run away from home two months back.

The little boy must've been feeling a little lonely and homesick, since he'd crawled into the corner of some dark alley last night and died, his body suddenly having lost the will to live. In the last moments of his pathetic life, the poor bastard had gone through several organ failures, and his heart had literally burst in his chest.

"Depends?" she retorted, interrupting his train of thought. He looked up to see light purple eyes narrowed at him in miffed amusement. "On what?"

"Why were you on the streets last night?" Fushimi asked.

"Why were you staying home instead of getting laid?" she retorted, smirking. At his small glare, she rolled her eyes. "What, I can't stroll through town on my own?" she grinned, resting one hand imperiously on her hip, a good bit of which was showing, since her white tee was riding up slightly, and her black shorts were dipping lower than they should've.

He sighed. Onto the next fruitless question, then. "Who and where is the person you were with last night?"

The redhead flipped her long red hair over one shoulder and snorted. "Do you really expect me to remember every person I have a one-night stand with?"

Fushimi exhaled, frowning when one of the papers slipped from his hand and floated down to the ground, close to the girl's cell. Bending forward to pick it up, his eyes widened when a pale white hand shot out from between the bars and brazenly grasped his cheek.

"You know, I wouldn't have a hard time remembering _you_, if we did it," she murmured, stroking his cheek gently once, twice. From beneath her lashes, she looked up at him with her purple eyes. "Say, what's your name?"

"Why?" he tartly asked.

"Well, I have to say _something_ when we're doing the dirty."

Fushimi smirked. "What makes you so sure we'll be doing anything?"

In response to this, her free hand languidly reached up to mirror her other, cupping the other half of his face. Almost involuntarily—what was he _doing?_—Fushimi leaned into her touch, and he suddenly found himself pulled up against the bars, the girl whose name he still didn't know kissing and touching him like she would a well-known lover, causing a warmth in his face and lower stomach.

Almost immediately he deepened the kiss, adding his tongue to the mix when she started biting his bottom lip, and they stood there, the two of them, simply reveling in a strange bout of pleasure.

When she pulled away, a lance of disappointment shot through him. Fushimi was even more disappointed when he opened his eyes to find that the girl had walked back to her cot.

As she sat there, a small smile playing across her moist lips, he silently watched her for a moment. An inaudible sigh slipped past his smarting lips as he reluctantly turned back to his papers. He shuffled them about, looking without seeing as he replayed in his mind the strange event that had just occurred.

What had prompted it?

"Akamine Hotaru." Fushimi looked over his shoulder to find the girl wide awake and smiling.

"Is that supposed to be the name of the person you were with?" he snorted. Hotaru was a girl name. But then, so was Misaki.

She laughed. It was a nice laugh. It was a _dark_ laugh, as if hinting at the fact that she was capable of so much more that _wasn't_ so nice. It sent a small tingle up his spine. "No. It's mine, dumbass."

He turned away so she wouldn't see the smile on his lips.

"Fushimi Saruhiko." When he turned back, he saw one red eyebrow raised at him in question. "That's the name you'll be calling."

Realization dawned on Hotaru's face, and she laughed. "Hah, well, that depends."

It was Fushimi's turn to raise an eyebrow. "On?"

"Whether or not I see you after this." Fushimi's eyes widened when a blazing _red_ aura suddenly engulfed her. When the red glare grew too unbearable to look at, he turned away, and not too soon, either, for a small blast erupted then, throwing him back into the cell opposite Hotaru's.

When the dust cleared, Fushimi looked up and saw Hotaru standing next to a young man—sixteen, maybe—with shoulder-length white hair parted down the middle on either side of his face, which was as pale as the rest of his slender, almost feminine body.

"Guess this is goodbye, Saru," Hotaru coyly called out to him, smirking as she turned and walked away. The white-haired boy stared at him for a moment before turning to follow suit.

Fushimi merely stood there, watching as they disappeared, and it was like this that Captain Awashima and the rest of Scepter 4 found him, standing with one hand on his chin in wonder.

"Explain yourself, Fushimi," Awashima coolly demanded as she strode up to him.

"You didn't tell me, Lieutenant, that she was the new Red King."

Awashima's blue eyes narrowed. "I shouldn't have had to, if you'd read all the papers I'd handed you." To emphasize this, she snatched a half-burnt slip of paper from the floor and thrust it into his face. Fushimi blinked. On it was a snap-shot of Hotaru, and below it was a description listing her date of birth—October 31—as well what was known of her family life and background. Snatching the paper from her, he quickly pocketed it for future use.

Unfazed by this, Awashima frowned and continued with her questioning. "Why did you allow her to escape?"

Fushimi pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "I placed a tracking device on her."

**OwO**

**My head's been getting so smutty for the past month or so, gahhh, that's why that really fast scene happened there! *blushes furiously* Way outta character for fushimi, but… like I said, oh wells! Though there's sorta an explanation for that, later… I hope. Dunno yet, lemme think…**

**How old are Fushimi and Yata? Yata seems to be high school age, but Fushimi seems so much…**_**older**_**. Hotaru (let's say Akamine uses the kanji for "red"…?) is eighteen, that's why I'm asking.**

**Wanna just **_**skip**_**, can't wait to get to it, the bittersweet love rivalry between former friends! Fuggers!**

**Decided to keep the title as is, since I've a lot of (cute/romantic/funny-ish?) chapter titles close to that now, and I've started building stuff around it in my head (expect some firefly related themes for bout three or more of these chapters, hahah).**

**Er, if the ending is slightly rushed, that's cuz I was in a rush to get it out TONIGHT. Yeah.**

**Damn. Shouldn't have started this, since I need to update (ahem, FINISH) me DGM fanfics. Couldn't **_**resist**_**, though…!**

**Um, off topic, but… do yall know the name of this Japanese book, about this guy whose friends call him the "Dark Prince," and he goes missing, all of a sudden, while he's with this strange girl called Ayame…? It was a good book (it's part of a series, but I've only read the first two books), and I wanted to read the manga version of it, but I couldn't remember the title… It's, like, got Japanese fairies. Well, not really **_**fairies**_**, but… yeah, yall get what I mean.**


	3. Incognito

**CHAPTER 3**

**ThANK YOU HAKEZU FOR REVIEWING~! Made me so happy, that yall liked it! Also, thanks again to that guest reviewer whose review probably isn't there (aint you got a fanfic account?), glad you kept reading and that I cleared up the misunderstanding! No offense taken! For you guys, I'll try not to let the excitement die down too soon!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki… all the homeless men).**

**OvO**

Incognito

"Hurry up, Hibiki!"

"I-I'm trying, Hotaru!" Hibiki panted, trailing behind Hotaru as they ran through the woods surrounding the holding facility she'd just escaped from.

"Try harder, then!" she laughed, despite the fact that she was heaving and sweating even more than he was.

"C-Can't we… slow down?" the white-haired boy wheezed. "W-We've already… gotten away… from… them…!"

Hotaru stopped, and Hibiki crashed into her and fell to the ground. "I know. I'm just running for fun now." That, and to keep warm, since the morning air was chilly against her bare skin.

"_H-Hotaru_…!"

"Alright, alright," she loftily conceded, snickering at his lack of manly preeminence. "We'll rest here for a bit."

With a sigh of relief and indignation, Hibiki sat down on a small patch of grass. Taking in deep breaths of the cool, brisk morning air as her sickly friend tried to catch his breath, Hotaru glanced around, smiling when she saw a glimpse of buildings and cars between the branches of the trees.

A sudden mischievous thought crossed her mind, and she looked over her shoulder at Hibiki, who had his head between his knees and looked to be hyperventilating. Grinning, she took an extra-deep breath, and then—

"HIBIKI!" He started and jumped to his feet, an extremely flustered look on his face. She couldn't help it—she started laughing.

"What're you doing, Hotaru!?"

"C'mon, Hibiki!" She threw her arms out and spun around, a big smile on her face as she looked up at the clear blue sky. "Life's short! You shouldn't spend it with your face hidden away!"

"Still, there's no need to just go shouting my name for the world to hear!" he replied, his eyes wide and teary.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. With a grin, she walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "C'_mon_, Hibiki, no need to cry!" When all he did was sniffle, Hotaru bent forward so that her lips were nearly touching his ear. "Please? For me?" she huskily murmured. She smirked when a faint flush appeared on his pale cheeks.

"F-Fine!" Hotaru smiled when he quickly turned away. "Come on, Hotaru," he said, walking away. He stopped when he heard her snickers.

"What is it?" he stiffly asked, turning around to face her with his still-burning face.

"The town's over there," she smirked, jabbing her thumb behind her.

"I-I knew that!" he replied, doing a 180 and stiffly marching past her.

"Stop sulking, Hibiki," Hotaru called out, smirking as her friend stepped out onto the somewhat empty street—the morning was barely getting started, after all—and walked on without her.

"I'm not sulking," he pouted, indignantly puffing up his cheeks and pointedly looking away as she came and stood next to him.

"If you keep doing that, I'm gonna have to go find some new playmate," Hotaru warned, smirking as she put a hand on her hip.

"F-Fine…" he muttered, blushing. "If you want one so much, you can go find one."

Hotaru raised a red eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, really? Don't mind if I do, then." Calling him on his bluff, she whirled away and stalked over to the head of a dirty alleyway, where a group of homeless men had situated themselves. They all looked up in annoyance, but when they saw her hips and boobs, they all started smiling and nudging each other.

"Hey guys, I was wondering if—" Something knocked into her from behind with a great big cry of "_HOTARU!_"

"What, Hibiki?" she responded with mock annoyance, trying to unwrap his arms from around her.

"Y-You don't need a new playmate, do you? You have me already, right?"

"I can't play with someone who's always _crying_."

"I'll stop crying, promise! Just don't replace me!"Hotaru gave him a pointed look, and Hibiki wiped the tears from his face. "See? I'm all good now!"

Hibiki looked crestfallen Hotaru smirked and turned to the homeless men again.

"I was wondering if you guys would let me and my friend buy your clothes off of you."

Hibiki blinked. "Really?"

"Well, we need a disguise, right? So the blues won't find us so easily?"

"R-Right!" Hibiki shakily laughed.

Turning back to the suddenly less-enthusiastic homeless men, Hotaru smirked and placed her hands on either side of her shapely hips. "How bout it, boys? Wanna help out a girl down on her luck?"

One of them, a middle-aged man with thinning brown hair and a paunch showing through his grimy button-up shirt, still had this dazed, eager look on his face and was about to answer when he was cut off. "What're we gonna get outta it?"

Hotaru blinked and looked at the old, senile-looking gray-haired man who'd spoken. She gave him what she hoped was a winning, wholesome smile while covertly eyeing his long, dirty overcoat. "My gratitude and adoration in the form of a kiss?"

Some of them perked up at this, but the old man simply snorted. "Hah!" he brayed, giving her a caustic eye. "That aint gonna feed us or keep us warm, girlie."

A smile appeared on Hotaru's face. "Oh yeah? Try me." When the old man waved his arm for her to go ahead, Hotaru smirked and bent forward. "Remember, old man, we have a deal—the clothes of our choosing in exchange for a few kisses to those who donated."

Not uncertain in the least, the old man snorted. "Give it a shot then, girlie."

Without hesitation, Hotaru placed her lips on the old man's wizened cheeks, and a small red aura, imperceptible to those who didn't know what to look for, blazed around the two of them. The cloud dissipated when Hotaru pulled away, though a small flame of warmth could still be seen jumping across the skin of the old man.

"How's _that_ for warm, old man?" Hotaru asked, smirking when the old man's eyes widened in disbelief.

Cries of "Did it work?" and "I want a kiss!" surrounded them and sputtered to a stop when the old man raised his hand for quiet.

"How did you do that, girlie?" the old man asked, incredulity and wonder glinting in his milky grey eyes.

Hotaru rolled her shoulders back in a shrug that caused many of the men present to squirm in carnal discomfort. "It's just something I picked up a while back. Now, a deal's a deal, right?"

With a sigh, the old man shrugged it off and handed it to her. "Saw you eyeing this. Not gonna be needing it much, thanks to your little gift."

He frowned when Hotaru snorted. "I don't want that!" She leaned forward so that only he would hear her next words. "The gift's not gonna last forever—it'll be gone by morning's end—so just give us the bits of clothes you don't need any more."

His eyes widened, and he nodded minutely in understanding before straightening and huffing in mock-indignation. "Pah! Have what you will, then."

Hotaru tapped her chin in thought, glancing around at the small group of homeless men. She grinned when she saw a young man in his early twenties with a large, floppy grey cap on his mat of black hair and a pair of glasses perched on his nose. "Hey, you—wanna gimme your hat?"

He started and looked around. "Y-You mean… me?"

"No, I meant your evil twin, sitting behind the dumpster." When he blushed, she laughed. "No worries, I don't bite… much."

When he still didn't get up, another man stood. He looked to be around the same age as the glasses guy and had short red hair and the beginnings of a goatee. "If you're not man enough, Abe-kun, I'll gladly take your place!"

At this, Abe quickly shot to his feet. "I never said I was, Morino! I-I was just surprised, is all." Lightly pushing Morino aside, Abe stood in front of Hotaru, and she stepped forward. She was only going to give him a peck on the lips when she put her face to his —nothing more, really—but she changed her mind at the last minute when his glasses brushed against her.

It was his glasses that did it. They reminded her of the _other_ glasses guy, Saru.

The one who'd tasted like blueberries.

There were bawdy hoots of laughter as Hotaru suddenly pressed her body up against Abe's, her hands running through his hair as she chucked the chaste kiss and started French-kissing the man in the grey cap.

When Hibiki wrenched her off, Hotaru wiped a hand across her mouth, severing the string of saliva that was connecting her to Abe with a flick of the wrist while her other hand shot out and snatched the cap off the top of the dazed, furiously-blushing young man's head. She frowned when Hibiki pulled her a few feet away.

"What're you doing, Hotaru!?" Hibiki whispered, staring at her in outrage.

She shook his hand off her shoulder and looked over the other men. "I'm getting us a disguise, Hibiki. Might as well have some _fun_ while I'm at it."

"_Hotaru_…"

"_Okay_, Hibiki, no need to whine. I'll stop kissing them like that, if it bothers you so much."

After a few more kisses—chaste ones this time, with no tongue work—the two of them were decked out in dirty, over-sized men's clothes, Hotaru's red locks all safely tucked away underneath the grey cap, her evocative body hidden away under a drab grey coat. Likewise, Hibiki had thrown a brown hat over his white hair and was sporting a new green turncoat with moth holes at the elbows.

As Hibiki hurriedly pulled her away, Hotaru turned back to the old man. "Do you guys always stay here?"

The old man's eyes smiled in mirth. "No, but if you come by again with some more of your little gifts, then perhaps we will be."

Hotaru laughed and turned away. "See ya, old man."

"Have some respect for your elders, girlie. And the name is Noboru Miyoshi, not 'old man.'"

Hotaru grinned and walked away. Hibiki cast the group of men one final nervous glance before following after her, and as they walked down the slowly-filling street, he kept glancing at her. Finally, she couldn't take any more of his ogling.

"Spit it out already, Hibiki." He jumped and flushed.

"Nice to see you're making so many new friends, Hotaru."

"I know, right?" she triumphantly laughed, her hands on her hips. "Who'da thought, huh!"

"Yeah, who'da thought, huh…"

At the note of discontent in his voice, Hotaru turned and gave Hibiki a grin. "No worries, Hibiki. You're still my first friend, the most special one. Don't forget that."

"R-Right…" Hibiki replied, his frown turning into a smile. "Right!"

Hotaru laughed and turned away, and as she did, the smile on Hibiki's face went limp. "That's right. I'm the most special friend…"

**OxO**

**Whoa. I was thinking it was only gonna be 3 pages or something, but this one came out longer than I thought it would!**

**Wow, is Hotaru jaded or what? This is only her second appearance, and yet all her actions seem to revolve around the action of smirking.**

**Saw this totally weird thing while looking for DGM pics. It was a yaoi pic, of Link and… Leverrier. And I was liiiike… WT_FUUUCK?_**

**Anyone care to guess Hibiki's character type?**

**What do YOU guys think Fushimi would taste like? I was grasping at straws at that one, since I couldn't remember blue foods… I'd like to know~!**


	4. Greet the Opposition

**CHAPTER 4**

**SOOO glad yall liked that one too! New reviewer, ****Blackandwhiteangel13, glad I made a story you wanted to read!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, those hobos from before).**

**OwO**

Greet the Opposition

Things had died down considerably since last month, but Yata Misaki still hadn't gotten over it. Not fully.

Not really, actually. It would take more than a month for the pain that came with the death of his savior, his idol, to dissipate. In the meantime, he'd done his best to get on with leading a normal life like before, without his powers, which had disappeared along with Mikoto.

Kusonagi had offered him a part-time job at his bar, doing minor things a busboy would at a restaurant. Yata had sucked up his pride and accepted, since he knew he couldn't get a real job elsewhere, not having gone to high school since he'd joined HOMRA.

With that idiot Saru.

Yata clenched his fist. He sure as hell wasn't gonna join up with that traitor and _that person_ who'd killed Mikoto.

"Yata-san!"

He turned around and glared sullenly at the pudgy blond man rushing up to him. "What do you want?"

"We've got a problem!"

"What is it?" he muttered. "Did Anna replace the wine bottles with grape juice again?"

"What—? No!"

"Then what do you want? I still gotta pick up a few more things for Kusanagi-san."

"It's the blues!"

Yata closed the lid of the dumpster. "What bout them?" he coolly asked, slapping more than just dust off his hands.

"T-They're chasing two guys round town, and—"

"So? What's that got to do with us?" he replied, shoving past the blond man. At Kamamoto's next words, Yata froze.

"The two they're chasing—one of'ems gotta red aura."

**OvO**

"_**HOTARU!**_"

"What, Hibiki?" Hotaru shouted, cackling loudly as the two of them jumped hedges, trashcans, and people as they ran through the now-crowded streets of Shizume. She'd been wrong to call it a town. It was a city bursting with life, one different from the nighttime crowd, and she couldn't help but glance around at the different kinds of people, despite the fact that she was being chased by a group of them right now.

"Y-You said… the disguise… would make it… harder for them… to find… us!"

"I… thought it would!" she laughed, sidestepping an old lady with a walker. "Guess… that plan… backfired!"

"That's… an _understatement!_" Hibiki cried, yelping loudly—and girlishly, but she wasn't mean enough to tell him that… yet—when a flying fish whacked him in the face. Hotaru wasted precious oxygen howling with laughter, not regretting it one bit even when she inhaled a lungful of Hibiki's new nautical cologne.

"Step… it up… Hibiki!"

"I'm… trying!"

"C'mon!" Using his sleeve as a leash, Hotaru pulled Hibiki down through an empty alleyway, one that led to a park.

"W-What're we—?"

"The blues… probably won't follow us here!" Hotaru gasped, giving him a triumphant grin as she bent over and tried to catch her breath. "They… don't seem the type to do anything… too public, ya know?"

"You're right, they aren't." Hotaru's eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice—strange, since she'd only just heard it today—agree with her. She turned around and grinned when her eyes found a tall, lean form decked out in military blue casually sitting on a park bench to her left.

"Then why're _you_ here?"

"Who said I was like the rest of them?" Fushimi replied, smirking at her. Hotaru snorted when Fushimi patted the seat next to him—boy, was he arrogant—but when he raised an eyebrow, she grinned and started walking forward.

"H-Hotaru—!"

"I'll be fine, Hibiki," she called over one shoulder as she plopped herself down as comfortably as she could. "Just go wash off your new cologne and try not to hyperventilate." As she said this, she looked at Fushimi out of the corner of her eyes. He didn't seem to be that much older than her—maybe nineteen or twenty?—and wasn't too hard on the eyes. He could even be "dashing," with a navy blue military uniform and gold saber strapped to his side. Not to mention the hair.

Hotaru licked her lips, taking a little glimmer of pleasure from it when she saw his eyes—a deep blue to match the rest of his outfit—quickly dart to them and away.

"So, what is it you guys wanted from us again?" she asked, shrugging off the top half of her coat. Stretching her arms and deliberately pushing her chest out, she sighed, though more from amusement than exhaustion when she heard his breath hitch just the teensiest bit.

"Just a few answers."

"It'd better be a fair exchange."

"We'll talk about that after you come back to Scepter 4's headquarters."

"And what if I don't wanna?" she asked, throwing the coat back onto her shoulders as she stood up and looked down at him with curious purple eyes. She smiled when his eyes widened at the sudden appearance of her aura.

"I'm not afraid to hit a girl, if that's what you're asking." Hotaru laughed, and her faint red aura blazed into a fiery inferno that completely enveloped her body.

"H-Hotaru—!"

"Stay outta this, Hibiki. You're only gonna get in the way." Hotaru's eyes narrowed at Fushimi, who snorted when her friend reluctantly stepped back.

Holding her arms out to the side in an invitation for a fiery embrace, she gave Fushimi a challenging smirk. "Ready when you are, Saru."

She watched in rapt fascination as the blue-haired man unsheathed his blade with great elegance and military prose.

"Fushimi, ready."

Both Fushimi and Hibiki blinked when she doubled over in laughter.

"Y-You didn't have to actually _tell_ me!" she gasped, trying to stop laughing. His literariness had _totally_ ruined his cool moment. Just like—

Her eyes widened as the rest of the thought flitted away before she could fully grasp it.

Hibiki's screech abruptly cut her off her mental wandering. "Watch out!"

Hotaru looked up and quickly backpedaled, her eyes widening in surprise as a blazing blue sword passed inches from her face.

"Hey, what the hell?" she snapped. "Are you trying to _kill_ me?!" Hotaru grinded her teeth together when the dashing, tasty—no, _annoying_—blue monkey man clicked his tongue at her.

"Well, you _are_ a murder suspect."

"Wha—? I didn't kill anyone, you dumbass!"

"Well, how the hell am I supposed to know if that's true or not if you didn't even answer my _damn_ questions?"

"Keep being such a saru and I won't give you any more kisses, damn Saru!"

Their banter—and fight, since she'd launched herself at him with fists ablaze when he'd called her a _murderer_—was interrupted by an anguished cry from the sidelines. "_Hotaru!_ You kissed _him_, too!?"

"I'm in a life-or-death situation right now, Hibiki! Freak out about my sexual activity later!"

**OxO**

**GAAAH, I feel like I waaay didn't get Fushimi right! *bangs head against desk* Let's just… chalk it up to Hotaru's skanky panky! **_**She's**_** definitely gonna be breaking some hearts, heheheh *rubs hands together evilly***

**Well, I was gonna put more emotional thoughts into Yata's intro, but then I started thinking he might sound sorta **_**gaaay?**_** It's like, you have to be so **_**careful**_** with the guys in this series, ya know? There's SOOO many friggin yaoi landmines in here! Not like I gotta problem with that, hahah (Sarumi so cuuuute)!**

**Does Yata (he a brunette or a ginger? He looks like a brunette, but in that one middle school scene his hair is all bright and stuff) refer to blond man as Rikio or Kamamoto? I don't think he added a name in the anime. Or did he? Maybe I just didn't catch it.**

**Hm. I wonder what Yata should taste like… Strawberries?**

**This is the first series (pffft… fanfic) I've started that I've been able to update so quickly. It's only been 6 days since I started, I think, and I updated, like, **_**almost**_** every day. As if imma be able to keep that up though, hahah…**

**Now… to work on my DGM fanfics, which have been in great neglect for the past month… (there's a great big **_**lull**_** at the moment in my favorite of those DGM children, cuz I wanna skip STRAIGHT to the romantic shit that's only a few chapters away from where I am right now but I CAAAN't~).**


	5. Meet the Vanguard

**CHAPTER 5**

**Oooh my gooosh, michi naki michi, you're following one of my other fanfics too, aren't you?! Gah, you deserve something SPECIAL! I'll… get around to it eventually, but you'll know it's yours when you see it! Don't be too surprised if nothing comes up, though.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, hobos, murder victims).**

**OvO**

Meet the Vanguard

"Y-Yata-san… wait… up…!"

"Damn it, Kamamoto, we gottta hurry up!" Yata cried, turning to glare impatiently at the pudgy man as he stumbled along ten feet behind.

"W-We… gotta slow down… else… Anna… can't… keep up…!"

"What?" Yata turned to look at the white-haired girl, who was only a few feet behind him. Even though she was running around in layers and layers of the weird lolati things she liked to wear so much, Anna wasn't winded, wasn't even breaking a _sweat_. Kamamoto, on the other hand…

Yata face-palmed. "I'll just go on ahead with her then." And before Kamamoto could react, he took Anna into his arms and made off with her on his skateboard.

As Kamamoto's cries of outrage grew farther away, Yata relaxed. At least if anything happened to him then that idiot wouldn't get caught up in it too.

"Anna…" He put his lips to her ear. "If anything happens to me, get back to Kusanagi-san. Don't try to help, and don't let them try either, got it?"

Instead of answering him, Anna raised one hand and pointed it to their left, at a small park. "The red is over there," she murmured.

"Alright. Just remember what I said, Anna."

**O_O**

"Is that your best?" Hotaru laughed, successfully side-stepping another one of his sword strokes. Well, her body did, at least. The same couldn't be said for her borrowed coat, though, which grew another hole.

"You've got such _bad_ **aim**, Saru! Maybe I should take back what I said about doing the dirty with you. You'd take _forever_ to get it in." She laughed when her taunt earned her a cut on the forearm.

"Look, you finally got it!" she hooted, clapping her hands theatrically. "Bravo, bravo!" Her smile turned feral. "Wanna see what _I've_ got?" The flames around her flared, turning a bright red hue as they swelled into a fiery cyclone that quickly spiraled out of control. Hotaru laughed as Fushimi frowned and took a couple steps away.

"Can't stand the heat, now can you, Saru?"

"Hotaru, stop!"

"Just go hide somewhere again, Hibiki!" she shouted, lashing out at the dashing soldier boy with her arms and legs. Her eyes widened when his hand latched onto her outstretched leg, despite the blistering heat. All the breath flew from her body when he slammed her onto the pavement, and her flames dimmed to a subtle, imperceptible warmth.

"You damn—!" Hotaru hissed and bit her lip when Fushimi pressed the flat of his blade against her throat, straddled her waist, and deftly pinned her arms above her head. She smirked when his hand just so happened to graze her left breast on its way to her shoulder. "If you wanted another feel, Saru, you could've just asked."

"You're going back with me, Hotaru, whether you want to or not."

"Oh, I want to, alright," Hotaru huskily murmured, licking her lips. She grinned when she felt his body—namely, his _crotch_—respond. Just to tease him more, she moaned and grinded her body against his as best she could. Something inside her writhed at the flushed, harried look of longing that appeared on Fushimi's face.

"Hotaru, don't—"

"Get the fuck off him, you damn perverted Saru!" Hotaru blinked and stopped with her gyrating when a skateboard brained Fushimi in the side of the head and threw him nearly five feet away. She got up as Fushimi spit a wad of blood out of his mouth.

She tensed as the blue boy stood up. "Why, if it isn't Misaki," Fushimi snidely remarked, a leer turning his dashing good looks more piratical and cockney and _sexy_.

Hotaru blinked again as a short red-haired boy—he'd barely reach her nose—retrieved his board and positioned himself in front of her. "Shut up."

"The powerless should stay out of the way of the powerful, don't you think, Misaki?" Fushimi smiled as Misaki—really, what kind of name was that for a boy?— squirmed in rage. "They're only going to get _hurt_ if they do."

"You ain't gonna be beating me anytime soon, Saru, powers or no!" the boy retorted, hefting his board. This time, Hotaru noted its lack of a colored aura. A sense of dread filled her.

"Sorry, Mi-sa-_ki_. You must be feeling so lonely, now that HOMRA's disbanded, but I can't play with you." Fushimi turned away from the redhead and started walking towards Hotaru. He stopped when the skater boy stepped in between them.

"Stop screwing with me, Saru!" Misaki shouted, cocking a fist at Fushimi. Before the argument could escalate into a fight, Hotaru quickly stepped forward, drawing the red boy's attention back to her. His lips twisted when she grabbed his forearm.

With steady eyes and a solemn voice, Hotaru changed the course of several lives with her next words. "Do you want it, the power to fight back against those who've wronged you?"

There was no hesitation in his answer. "Damn right I do!"

She threw back her head and laughed. "Then you got yourself a new Queen!" All she caught was the glimmer of a look of surprise before her lips were on his and she was giving him one hell of a passionate kiss. She'd be one hell of an _idiot_ if she didn't use this chance to milk as much as she could out of this cute skater boy.

As a raging, roaring inferno engulfed them, Hotaru thought she could hear a faint cry, off in the distance. It sounded like her name.

**OxO**

**Tada~?**

**Found out something interesting! One of my friends (or maybe more just acquaintances, though I hope we're friends… I think we are) asked me if I write fanfics, and I was liiike… "Who told you that?" with an implicit exclamation mark at the end and a suspicious glance, of course. She said that the story I wrote (we're writing random story assignments in comp now, since it's the end of the year and all that) made it sound like I did. Turns out she writes and reads fanfics, too! Well, more like reads? She says she hasn't been on fanfiction as a writer in more than a year (she has a few twilight and glee fics?). I asked her for her username, but she laughed and said no. Also, turns out she really dislikes OCs, since they usually don't fit into the world that they're planted in or are sometimes just personifications of the writer or don't have good character-development . Sounds like she really knows her shit, huh. That's why I didn't tell her most of my fanfics center around OCs, hahahah… Do Hotaru and Hibiki fit? Does Kumori (if yall know her)? Do yall think along similar lines as she? If YOU (yes, my acquaintance/friend) are reading this… hahahah, leave some sorta sign so I can pee on you.**


	6. Cheat the Masses

**CHAPTER 6**

**No worries, ****Blackandwhiteangel13! He's got QUITE the role in this fanfic (though it don't quite seem so, at the moment…) I jus needa get the two of them past the HOMRA initiation process! Glad you like her personality, though! **

**And YES, michi naki michi, I am an epic detective, huh? Glad you decided to check this out too~! This was SUUUCH a good anime (and Yata was tooooo cute!) so I jus couldn't help it!**

**Oh and heeeeeeeeeey, yall new followers/favoriters (xoxo-Poof-xoxo,**** Akasuna-No-Tenshi, ****xXSweet Little BumblebeeXx [your name makes me think of the DDR song], Cheshire neko chan), ****glad you could **_**make**_** it~!**

**Oh, and hey, for all you readers who think she's slutty and stuff… there's a reason! *smiles apologetically while raising hands to fend off verbal abuse* So don't let it turn you offa this fanfic! Keep (and commence) reading, yall!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, hobos, murder victims).**

**OxO**

Cheat the Masses

After a few seconds of furious tongue work, Hotaru shoved the astonished skater boy away, towards Fushimi. "Show me what you got, chibi!"

"Shut up, damn pervert!" the redhead growled, roughly, repeatedly wiping one hand across his mouth. Hotaru laughed and stepped back until she was level with Hibiki, who was hiding behind the bench.

"Nice hiding spot, Hibiki. They _totally_ can't see us from here."

"Hotaru, are you okay!?" he whispered, ignoring her sarcasm.

"Just a little scratch, no need to freak out."

"Let me see!" When she pulled back her right sleeve and revealed wound that was definitely more than just a little scratch, Hibiki's eyes bugged out. "_H-Hotaru!_ You need to be more _careful!_"

"But I've got you, right?" she laughed, grinning as Hibiki knelt and placed his hands on her arm. "You'll keep me safe."

"Still, Hotaru…"

She was about to reply when a hot, searing pain filled her body. She gasped and fell forward against him, drawing blood as she accidentally bit her tongue. As the pain enveloped her, Hibiki held her, and her body convulsed once, twice. He continued to do so, even when her body stilled and her breathing steadied. Reluctantly, he let her go when she sat up.

"See? Good as new," she shakily replied, lifting up her bloody-but-not-bleeding arm. When Hibiki gave her a pout, she sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll _try_." When he turned his face away, she smiled and leaned forward.

"Thanks, Hibiki," she whispered, planting a light kiss on his cheek. She smiled when his face started burning a bright, furious red.

"Hotaru—"

"Rather than playing lovebirds, shouldn't you be running away?"

Hotaru looked up at the man leaning placidly against their bench and smirked. "Rather than flirting, shouldn't you be fighting?" Her words were accompanied by a flash of red as the skater boy came crashing down from above in a fiery blaze of glory, nearly plowing into the bench as Fushimi side-stepped his attack. Hotaru frowned as sparks from his landing burned into her coat.

"Watch it! You're ruining a perfectly good coat!"

"'Perfectly good?' That shit looks like you use it for fuel."

Hotaru narrowed her eyes at him. "Y'know, Misaki, I think I'll take Saru's advice and book it. You'll be fine on your own, right?"

"Wha—the name's YATA, and I can take care of this shit any time of the day!"

"Sorry, Misaki. I've got a job to do, so I can't go easy on you today."

"Easy? Hah! I'm the one going easy on _you_, you stupid Saru!"

"Y-Yata-san!" Hotaru turned to find a heavily-panting blond man—tall but slightly pudgy—making his way towards them, a white-haired little girl in a black Goth Lolita—really, in this weather?—at his side.

Hotaru frowned. For some reason, the little girl was staring intently at Hotaru, a firm set to her jaw and a disappointed look in her eyes. Who did _she_ kill to deserve that?

"You were so scared you couldn't take care of me on your own that you dragged Anna into this too, Mi-sa-_ki~?_"

Yata stomped his foot like he was having a temper tantrum. "Stop hiding behind your girly excuses and face me like a man!"

"But it's so hard, since you're still a little boy who _hasn't gotten laid_." Hotaru's interest piqued. Yata was a virgin, too? He could join Hibiki's Virginity Club.

She grinned when he flushed. "S-Shut up! That's got _nothing_ to do with this, damn Saru."

Fushimi smirked, his eyes flitting to Hotaru and away. "Oh, it's got _everything_ to do with it, Mi-sa-_ki_." Yata's eyes narrowed as Fushimi turned and started to walk away. "But unfortunately, you aren't man enough to face me on your own, since you had Anna bring backup."

"What—?" The rest of his words were drowned out by a great big rustling.

Hotaru warily turned to look and laughed when she saw a familiar-looking group of hobos burst out of the bushes.

"I'll be coming back for you, so say your goodbyes." And with that, dashing blueberry soldier was gone.

Hotaru let out a short laugh and slapped Hibiki on the back, nearly giving him a face plant. "See, that wasn't so bad, huh, Hibiki?"

"Wasn't so bad? _Wasn't so bad?_ Hotaru, he almost abducted you. _Again!_"

"Hey, at least I didn't get hurt like last time!"

"Didn't get hurt!? He nearly cut your arm off!"

"A-Are you alright?" Abe gaped, rushing over and picking up her arm.

"Yeah, totally fine, Abe-kun. What're you doing here, old man?"

Miyoshi gave her a hacking laugh. "Saving your disrespectful self, girlie."

"Hah, as if your sack of old bones would be of any help!" she good-naturedly laughed. She opened her mouth to say more but was cut off when Yata stomped up to her.

"Hey, what's your deal with the damn Saru, and what the fuck did you mean before by 'new Queen'?" he snapped. "You a perverted cross dresser or something?"

She grabbed his hand and smirked when he started and tried to pull away. Before the men could do anything, Hotaru placed it on her breast and forced it to squeeze. Hard. "Does _this_ feel fake to you?"

Her answer came in the form of a great gush of blood as Yata fell to the pavement in a boneless heap of flushed limbs to the raucous guffaws of the homeless men.

"W-Why did you do that, Hotaru?!" Hibiki screeched, pulling her away—or trying to, at least—from the star struck ginger.

"You people are just too much fun!" she shrieked, slapping her hand on her thigh. Eagerly, she bent down and grabbed Yata by the front of his shirt and pulled him upright. She grinned when his eyes rolled around and unsteadily focused on her. "You asked for it, Mi-sa-ki! Take me to HOMRA!"

**OvO**

**There, ****Blackandwhiteangel13, you obvious Hibiki fan! Appreciation and Kiss for him! Pretty sure yall can guess **_**naow**_**, riiight~? His role (though maybe his character type aint obvious yet).**

**Ah, the things that will happen between Hotaru and Yata… So cute, he is. The first time I saw him in the anime, I was like "That dude is gonna be my favorite character, hands-down" (same as with Epsilon, from the Towa no Quon movie series [GO WATCH THAT!]). And, surprise surprise, he is~! Though I doubt I'm doing his character right. Wait. What does his extended name "Yatagarusa" mean, compared to the shorter?**

**I had some trouble, ending this chapter. Well, ending the fight, actually. I hate fight scenes… so hard to write. Wasn't even an actual fight scene, more like they exchanged snide remarks. That was why it took so long to get this one out (I already had practically all of it done, since it wasn't even that long, but it was that fight scene transition that got me).**

**Hope the title connects... It wasn't supposed to be that title to this stuff. No more "eet" titles.**


	7. Jailbait

**CHAPTER 7**

**Thanks for those new reviews and follows and faves! Totally appreciated that, and NAOW—**

**You'll wait a bit more. I went and read someone else's fanfic, and so I'm thinking I should mention this, just to get it out there, ya know? So, like, in _my_ strange K universe, if your king dies, you lose your powers and hafta go renew it with the new king if ya still wanna be a clansman. Yah? Is that how it is in the anime? No? Oh well. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you old and new followers!**

**Ah, and hakezu—that physiological tidbit from your review a while back will finally be put to use. Thanks!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, hobos, murder victims).**

**OxO**

Jailbait

"Thank you for coming and helping us, Miyoshi-san."

The old man grinned, giving them a front-row seat to a full row of shiny white plastic that Hotaru could've gladly gone without. "No problem, kid. You've got good manners, not like that girlie over there."

"That's cuz no one ever bothered to teach it in a way that seemed beneficial." She quickly turned her face away so that they couldn't see the grimace on her lips. She must not have done it fast enough, since Hibiki came and tilted his head questioningly at her.

"Hotaru…?"

He gazed at her, worry in his light blue eyes, and she gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm _fine_, Hibiki! You just worry too much—"

_He gazed at her, worry in his dark blue eyes, and she gave him a weak smile. "I'm… fine, - - -. You just… worry too much."_

Hotaru blinked when Hibiki's hand lifted off her shoulder. It seemed like she'd forgotten something…

Oh, right. The coat.

She shrugged off the textile remains hanging from her shoulders and handed it to the old man, who blinked and stared at it curiously. "Want it back, old man? I'll give it to you free of charge, since it's falling apart."

"No take backs, girlie." And with a spry jump, Miyoshi snatched it from her outstretched hand.

Hotaru snorted. "Who's the one lacking good manners?" Miyoshi grinned, and Hotaru's smirk softened into a small smile. If only she'd had some nice old man like him to raise her instead of that _brutish_ old lady.

_"Who would want rags like this? Idiot! But then, what can you expect from some dirty stray dog?"_

Hotaru frowned and shook her head and, turning away from her thoughts, faced Yata, who, with the help of Fatty Kamamoto, was finally getting up off the grass. "Hey, you alright now, Misaki-chan?"

Hotaru snickered when Yata's face turned strawberry red. "_Don't_—!" He drew up short, as if remembering that she was, unfortunately for him, _female_. She bit her lip when he pulled his beanie down over his eyes and muttered "I-It's _Yata_, woman," and she smirked when the flush on the short redhead's face deepened. Dirty little boy was probably remembering just how much of her was so _very_ womanly.

Imitating his stutter, she replied with a mocking "I-It's _Hotaru, _boy."

"I'm not a _boy_," Yata growled, tightening his hold on the beanie. "I'm a fucking _man_, got it?"

"_Right_," Hotaru drawled, sharing an eye roll with her white-haired friend, who was following the conversation with nervous disapproval. "You're so _very_ manly that you fainted when your little pervert hands finally got to cop a feel."

"P-Pervert? Y-You're the damn pervert, y-you… transgender cross dresser!"

"Hah! Your plan aint gonna work again, _boy_. I'm not gonna let some little boy touch my boobs just cuz he's cute." At the word "cute" he visibly tensed.

"A-As if anyone would wanna feel your fake inflatable boobs!?" Yata sputtered, glaring at her. Was it just her, or was his face even redder than before?

Hotaru laughed. "Wanna bet? Hey—" She rolled her eyes as she was blind-sided by an anxious white blur. "C'mon, Hibiki, I'm just playing around." Ignoring the trembling in his bottom lip, she slipped out of his arms and called out to the group of curious men around them. "Abe-kun?"

Startled, the dark-haired man looked up from the hand-held device he was playing with. "Wha—Oh, um, what is it, Hotaru-chan?"

She gave him a devious smile. "Want another feel?"

The bespectacled man started to blush a furious red—almost as red as Yata's strawberries—but before he could reply, his red-haired friend, Morino, playfully nudged him aside. "This guy here's already had his turn—why don't you let me have a go?"

Hotaru looked at him for a moment before turning away. "Never mind, Morino-san. I changed my mind."

"Wha—You didn't even think about it!"

A light chuckle sounded close by, and Hotaru grinned when Abe punched Morino in the arm. "She probably doesn't care for that possum hanging off your chin, Mori."

"Possum? This is a tribute to the era of _rock_—"

Hotaru laughed and interrupted him. "I bet you're just too lazy to take a pair of razors to that thing, Morino-san."

She rolled her eyes when the smelly man started using her shoulder as a crutch. "What's with that 'Morino-san'? Why can't I be Mori-kun, like Abe?"

"Careful there, Mori-_san_. You're crossing into pedophilia now."

Morino guffawed and wiped at his nose. "Pedophilia? If anyone's a pedophile, it's you, Hotaru-chan! Weren't you locking lips with that middle school chibi a while ago?"

Yata, who had been steadfastly ignoring the conversation up to that point, suddenly tuned in with furious intent. "Who you callin' a middle school chibi!? I'm a fuckin' _man_, damn it!"

"Misaki-chan, no need to get so worked up. It's just a kiss. Well, probably a first kiss for you, but still."

"First—? T-The name's _Yata_, damn it! And what's with the 'chan'!?"

"You're younger than me, middle school chibi, so what's wrong with me using it?"

"Actually…"

Hotaru blinked and looked around for the source of the voice. She grinned when Yata's pudgy companion raised his hand. "What is it?"

"Yata-san doesn't look it, but, uh… he's actually nineteen."

There was a disbelieving silence before they all broke out into snickers.

"What the hell're you all laughing for!?" Yata's flushed face twisted into an embarrassed frown when she poked him in the chest.

"Y-You can't be… serious!" Hotaru cackled, clutching her sides. "M-Misaki's… really only a year older than me?" Hotaru bent forward and breathlessly tried to catch her breath, and when she stood up and wiped the humor from her eyes, she noted that everyone was staring at her strangely. Well, everyone but Hibiki.

"What?"

"Y-You… you're only eighteen?" Abe gaped.

"Yeah. So?" She blinked when Morino slapped Abe on the back. "I'll miss you in gaol **(jail)**, man."

She narrowed her eyes at Hibiki. "What the hell's the problem with me being eighteen?" He shot her an apologetic smile and came over. In a subdued whisper that only she could hear, he mumbled that "It's, um, considered strange if… _older_ people start, um, _romantic relationships_ with, uh, young people like us, since we're not… physically or psychologically prepared for those kinds of things."

Hotaru rolled her eyes and spoke in a tone and volume that could be heard by the entire group. "Well, if they're worried about me not being 'physically or psychologically prepared' for a relationship, I've got something to show them."

Smirking, she licked her lips and watched as they watched her. Slowly, so that they couldn't all help but look, Hotaru trailed her hand along the side of her hips up to the top of her shorts and languidly hooked a finger under the hem of her tank top and gave it a tug.

She'd only intended to get their attention, but her tattered, very-much abused shirt had plans of its own.

The men all stared in mortified wonder as her shirt fell away to reveal the rest of her chest.

**OUO"**

**Dum Dum _DUM_… This fic aint jus gonna be all fun and games, guys! Damn, though—remembered that I already spilled her age back in the second chapter, so it wasn't surprising no more… not like it woulda, really. But… STRIP TEASE~!**

**Ya know, when I type Morino's name, I automatically start typing "morning" instead and hafta start furiously backspacing. Shoulda given him a different one, hahah.**

**Angry and yet still able to maintain his debilitating shyness… Oh, Yata.**

**But… so many good K fanfics out there, man! If yall got any suggestions, throw'em at me! Already got michi nacki michi's (mitsuketa[?]~), am waiting on Sumire, am checking out King and The Captain & the Kitsune, and am—**

**Confused. What is the military honorific for Tundra Woman, Fushimi, and Munakata? Who's Captain, Lieutenant? If Fushimi's Captain and Awashima Lieutenant, what does that make Munakata? Or is Munakata Captain, Awashima Vice-Captain, and Fushimi Grunt? Last one makes you think pokemon, dunnit, all them identical grunts.**

**Gaol is the old British term for jail. Sounds much cooler, huh.**


	8. Outta Juice

**CHAPTER 8**

**Ohmygosh, so glad you think so, Sleepyface~!**

**Scratch _THAT_ world I was talking bout last time! I found the friggin English translations of the light novels~! Yaaaaaay~! Didn't waste any time in getting started (on K SIDE: RED, OBVIOUSY! Finished the chapters translated by zeahart, trubbish, unki… waiting on Red Girl and whatever comes after, nyaaah, so started Blue… was sorta ehhh) and… GAAAH, I'm switching back to the real world's explanation. I'm _waaay_ off on the abilities thingy, hahah, but! I aint gonna go change the other chapters. Which is _why_… there's an explanation for that! In here! Ish. Not really. Raises more questions than answers, actually… Still! So glad I found it, heeheehee… I had this big ugly elephant in hiding around further down the line and didn't know how to get rid of it humanely, but… naow it mysteriously disappeared!**

**Anyways, enough with that annoyingly long piece of crap. Onwards!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, hobos, murder victims, dude).**

**OvO**

Outta Juice

They… they were _big_. Really big. And… really soft-looking, and—

Yata mentally shook his head. What was he thinking? And about her _inflatable boobs_, too!

He took a sudden step back when Hotaru bent forward and looked up at him. "How cute, little Misaki's blushing!" _Crap_, he thought, averting his gaze. _Don't look down, don't look down, don't _look—

The HOMRA vanguard looked down and nearly had another nose bleed.

Hotaru had big breasts. He'd known that, but they looked so much… so much _bigger_, even with the boob wrap tightly wound around it. It was a good thing, too, because he probably wouldn't have been able to take it if she'd been in a—

Suddenly, he found himself airborne.

"Yata-san!"

Yata growled when Kamamoto's large hands catch him and wrap around his chest. "I'm alright, Fatty, get your hands off!" With mounting annoyance, Yata brushed himself off and stood, scowling at the white-haired idiot who was glaring down at him—_damn his height!_—with this strange, flat expression in his suddenly dark sky blue eyes. "_Get away from her."_ To the transgender, he mumbled, "Go on, Hotaru, I'll, _I'll_—"

"No worries, Hibiki," the girl laughed, side-stepping him. She missed it, since she wasn't facing him, but Yata saw perfectly the crestfallen expression on the little shit's face. "It's hot out anyways, right?"

"B-But _Hotaru_—"

"What do you say, Mi-sa-_ki?_" she smirked, planting her hands on her very curvy hips. "You gonna show me the way, or… would you rather me lead you?" She ran a finger along her lush bottom lip, and Yata gulped and turned his burning face away.

"D-Do whatever you want. C- C'mon, Kamamoto!" And he stomped away, partly to hide his suddenly bleeding nose and partly to hide the uncomfortable bulge in his pants.

_Damn it!_ he inwardly growled, wiping the dark blood from the lower half of his face. Even though Mikoto wasn't his King anymore, Yata was still glad to be able to call himself a real Red clansman, with all the proper abilities. To be able to feel that familiar rush of power, that sense of invulnerability, was more than he could've asked for, especially if it could give him the strength to beat the shit out of that damn traitorous saru. But…

That transgender with inflatable boobs must've done something to him, because his body was acting very, very strange.

"Y-Yata-san, shouldn't we wait? T-They're still saying goodbye to the—"

"I-If she really wants to meet HOMRA, s-she should keep up!" he snapped. He skidded to a stop as his partner agilely stepped forward and blocked his path. "But, Yata-san, s-she's a girl, a delicate—"

Kamamoto cut off when Yata snorted in disbelief. "Delicate!? _Girls_ are delicate! And sweet! T-That—transgender with inflatable boobs is _not_ delicate or—!"

He stiffened when he felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist from behind, and all the blood in his body rushed to his face and his… crotch—_damn it!_—when something soft and squishy pressed up against his back. A shiver shot down his spine when those warm, gentle hands slipped under his shirt and slowly traced their way up the front of his chest.

The temperature of his body shot up another several degrees when he heard a silky voice, felt a warm puff of breath next to his ear. "What was that, Misaki? You like delicate girls? People say I'm a wild cat in bed, but I guess I could try playing a delicate, _beautiful blossom_ for you."

Heart thumping erratically in his chest, Yata nervously shoved Hotaru away. "S-Stop fucking with me, damn it!" His blush deepened when she smirked at him and said, "Who says I'm fucking with you or fucking with _you?_"

The blood roared through his veins when she said that, and the heat in the core of his stomach swelled to encompass the rest of his suddenly sweaty body. "_Damn it!_" He slammed his skateboard on the ground.

"Yata-san, calm down!"

"Shut up! I _am_ calm! I am the—the perfect picture of fucking _calmness!_"

"Hahah, look, Hibiki, Misaki-chibi-chan's gonna spontaneously combust!"

"S-Shut up, y-you shitty transgender with inflatable boobs! A-And the name is _Yatagarasu!_"

"Don't call her that, y-you—"

"You wanna pick a fight with me too, damn shit!? I still have to pay you back, you know!"

"Y-Yata-san, be careful with him…!"

Kamamoto's helpless expression took an even more depressed turn when the girl Hotaru came over and casually leaned on his shoulder. "No worries! Hibiki can take him on. Right, Hibiki?"

The girl's question was met with silence, as _her_ friend was currently trying to fend off _his_ friend's furiously flailing fists. She stared at them for a moment before shrugging and turning her light purple eyes on him again. Kamamoto gulped when she wrapped her hand around his arm and pressed her breasts against him. He didn't like the mischievous look in her eyes one bit.

He frowned when she smiled at him. "So, is your first name really Fatty?"

"Um, no, it's… it's Rikio."

"Rikio-kun, eh," she murmured, biting her bottom lip. Kamamoto blinked and looked away, but his head snapped back when she asked him, in a sultry voice, "Do you wanna do _it_ with me, too?"

He quickly sprang away from her and raised his hands defensively between them. "D-Do _what?_"

Kamamoto blinked when Hotaru threw back her head and laughed. "_Kiss_, Rikio! I was talking about a _kiss_, to give you powers? Like the one I did with the chibi?"

Somehow managing to hear this, Kamamoto's short-fused partner broke in with an indignant, "Chibi? Who you callin' a—"

"L-Leave Hotaru alone!"

And as the two continued their little fight, Kamamoto relaxed and stood up out of his fighting position. "There's no need, miss…?"

"Akamine. You can call me Hotaru-_chan_, if you want. Don't mind at all." With a smirk, she gestured at the white-haired boy, who was hitting Yata in the head with a shoe. "That guy over there's Ishihara Hibiki. So, how's about that kiss?"

"Er, like I said, there's really no need, since…" Hotaru's eyes widened when she saw his upraised hand, which was glowing a bright, fiery red.

"Hey, I didn't even get to _kiss_ you… Does that mean you're one of mine, like Misaki now?"

"Once you become a clansman, you _stay_ a clansman."

"Clansman?"

"Someone who receives power from a King, like me and Yata-san."

One red brow arced at him questioningly. "How come you had them and he didn't?"

"Oh, well… he already did."

Hotaru gave him a derisive snort. "_Please_. If Misaki-chibi-chan already had them, why didn't he use his powers when he was getting his ass handed to him by Saru?"

"Ah, well, um, his… juice has been running a little low, for the past month, ever since…" When his voice trailed off, his new liege gave him a curious look but didn't press it. Instead, she asked, "What about the little girl, the one who disappeared?"

**O.O**

**I shall make… Munakata a _commander_. And Awashima a Lieutenant, Fushimi a Captain. Yah? Yaaah…**

**6/29 Edit - Er, did that help...? Hope it did, Sleepyface!**


	9. Lost

**CHAPTER 9**

**OOCness(?) from Anna, who was NOT forgotten!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, hobos, murder victims, strange man).**

**O.O**

Lost

Anna was lost.

She'd decided not to watch the fight, even with its bursts of red, and had chosen instead to walk. That was how she'd found the small patch of red.

That was also how the strange man had found her.

"Are you lost, little girl?"

Anna stared expressionlessly up at the tall man with the kind smiles and empty eyes and shook her head.

"Where're your parents?" She spared him only another fleeting glance before turning back to the small flowers at her feet. They were red, but not as pretty as Mikoto's or as bright—and dark—as the girl's.

The girl.

To Anna, she was strange. Where Mikoto had set her monochrome world awash in red, the girl hadn't. The only part of her colorless world that had changed was the grey boy, who had suddenly flared red before going back to the listless grey she was so accustomed to.

This had happened when the girl's aura had gone from bright scarlet to dark crimson and back again.

To Anna, who had never seen this happen, had never seen someone's color change accordingly with that of another's… yes, she was strange.

Her attention switched back to the man when he spoke again. "Do you not know?" She knew. They were where they had been for the past few years, because of that dead man.

"Who's taking care of you?" She ignored the question and hoped the man would go away if she stopped responding.

"Do you not have anyone?" A warmth spread through her. Compared to a year ago, she had lots of people. She had Kusanagi, who always gave her grape juice and pretended that it was wine, and Kamamoto, who had a soft stomach like a walrus, and Yata, who screamed like a little girl and missed Mikoto as much as she did, and—

Her eyes widened when he grabbed her and swung her up into his arms. She looked at him with her own doll-like eyes. "…let go."

"Oh, you can talk? I didn't think you could." Alarm shot through her when his fingers, the one on the hand that was holding her legs up in the air, started rubbing along the back of her thigh.

"You remind me of something, you know? It wasn't as quiet as you, no, but it didn't like to talk. Not with me. But I made it, though." Her eyes narrowed minutely when his hands tightened on her arms, dug into her flesh, and she pulled her face away as leaned his grey, ashen once closer. "Would you like to know what it is, the thing you remind me of?"

Using her other hand, the one not being held in his hard grasp, Anna felt for one of the red marbles in her pocket. When her groping hand met smooth glass rather than cold silk, she raised the marble to her eye and looked up at the strange man through a red haze.

What she saw made her stomach churn, and his next words made the bile rise in the back of her throat.

"You remind me of this little red firefly I killed."


	10. Hae

**CHAPTER 10**

**Thanks to hakezu and Sleepyface for those (edit-helpful) reviews! Glad yall liked it! Might take a nosedive from here for a while, hahah… ha.**

**OOCness, I'm afraid… Dunno.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, hobos, murder victims, strange man).**

**OxO**

Hae

For some damnable reason, he couldn't seem to get the scent of cinnamon out of his head, nor the taste of burnt sugar off his tongue.

With a frustrated sigh, Fushimi ran a hand through his hair. He had more important things to think about than the scent and taste of that _girl_.

Fushimi clicked his tongue before going through the rest of the paperwork on the string of murders, the one connected to her.

The supposed Red King.

The supposed Red King… whose Sword of Damocles hadn't appeared, despite the manifestation of her flames. Flames that had _dimmed_ when faced with his—not at all like that of a normal King's, who would've snuffed the opposing flame out in an instant.

If it weren't for the grainy photographs and the—nonreiterable, courtesy of the Rabbits—eye witness accounts in front of him, he would've thought that Hotaru Akamine was simply a red herring, just another vassal of the newest Red King, a coward who was in hiding so as to avoid trouble with the other clans.

Fushimi glowered when an image out of the corner of his eye caught his gaze.

Above the line of wavering trees, dangling precariously from the heavens, was a Sword of Damocles, one of which he was very familiar with, because of the persistent cajoling of the idiotic Misaki. It was similar to that of the previous Red King, Suoh Mikoto.

Very similar.

Much too similar.

It was even _crumbling_ in the same places.

"Fushimi."

With a great lack of surprise, he looked up into the austere face of the Tundra Woman. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Judging from what little work you've finished, you've a lot on your mind. Perhaps it has to do with your failed retrieval?"

Under a heavy gaze that would've sent lesser men hugging the tiles and begging forgiveness, Fushimi merely laid his head on an upturned palm and returned her caustic eye with his trademark apathetic glare. "Maybe. What of it?"

He was quite taken aback by her next words. "Since you don't seem to be getting much work done, why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

Annoyance coursed through him. Now he'd have six hours to fill, with that annoying girl running through his head. "If you say so, Lieutenant."

Awashima turned as if to go, but then spun back to face him slightly. "If you would do to remember, Fushimi-kun, the relationships you adopt outside of the workplace have no bearing whatsoever inside the workplace.

"Ah, I just remembered. There seems to be some sort of minor discord in Shizume City at the moment, something to do with two delinquents, a white banshee, and a scantily-clad harridan." Fushimi's eyes narrowed slightly at the arsenic-laced smile Awashima directed at him. "Now then, if you would excuse me."

"Sure." He stood and, in ever-mounting annoyance, clicked his tongue.

She wasn't a firefly—she was a _fly_. An irritating fly that wouldn't stop buzzing around in his head and disturbing his thoughts.

He sighed.

So annoying.

One hand slowly went up to his face, which was smirking manically. If he was going to have any peace of mind, he was going to have to pay the fly herself a little visit.

**OvO**

**Jus realized my USB is a JD FIREFLY. Kukuku…**

**Well! Got the word Hae offa AlucardLovesSteakCakes, who's writing "Dinner with a Spider," which yall should TOOOTALLY check out! If you haven't already, that is. It's good Sarumi, though, so I'm pretty sure you have! Oh, and if yall don't have a good explanation for the validity of the transition from "Hotaru" to "Hae," no worries, ****_I've_**** got one!**

**Ah, and I got past the prologue of K Side Blue, and… YEAH! Got interested~! And… Awashima IS a lieutenant, so I'm glad I went and made that declaration last chapter. But unki made Munakata a Director? Doesn't sound as cool as commander though.**


	11. Unnoticed

**CHAPTER 11**

**How's **_**THIS**_** for more, Maya!? :D Oh, and Sleepy, glad that I made it not so vague ^^ Glad you went and reread it, too :x And… michi, you say that as if you didn't care for him that much!? QAQ But I guess I get it. I mean, he **_**is**_** a psychotic meanie… a cute psychotic meanie, but… a psychotic meanie nonetheless. I jus have a thing for the psychotic/emotionally broken cuties in the animatronic/literary world.**

**So, [ ] = English words, yah?**

**Ya know, was thinking I should try to put more of a waiting period in between my updates, to increase the levels of anticipation as well as the suspense from cliffhangers, but… I enjoy posting as fast as possible too much—makes me feel accomplished, nyah—so nah. Bet **_**that**_** made yall happy, not having to wait longer than necessary.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN K, ONLY MY OCs (Hotaru, Hibiki, hobos, murder victims, strange man).**

**OvO**

Unnoticed

"Misaki-chibi-chan, you should just let Hibiki talk to them," Hotaru smirked, watching as yet another person scurried away in fright.

"S-Shut up, w-woman!" Hotaru stifled a snicker. If he kept pulling on that beanie of his, his head would burst out the top like a wind-up jack-in-the-box.

"Boy, are you one helluva dumbass." She smirked as Yata's eyes started twitching, and he took a threatening step towards her. "What'd you say?"

A grin spread across her face. It was so easy to play with him. "You're a—"

"S-Say, Yata-san, Hotaru-san, shouldn't we hurry and find Anna?"

With a snort, Hotaru turned and gave Kamamoto a reassuring smirk. "I'm trying to speed up the process by showing this dumbass here how you're supposed to talk to people. Wanna do it with me, Rikio-_kun?_"

Another smirk rolled across the lower half of her face when the blond man squirmed under the sultry smile she'd directed at him.

If all HOMRA guys were like this, she was going to have _lots_ of fun.

A small tug on the sleeve of the grey hoodie Kamamoto had lent her for the moment made her turn and look at Hibiki, who was frowning and fidgeting with his hands, a slight blush on his pale cheeks. "Hotaru, wouldn't it be better if you and I just do it…?"

Affectionately, she patted him on his white head, rolling her eyes as she did. "You dumbasses don't seem to be getting my point. Rikio-kun will do it with me because Misaki-chan sucks too much and you're fine on your own."

"Y-You—I don't suck _anything!_ I-If anyone does, it's _you_, you damn shitty transgender!"

"What, Mi-sa-_ki?_" Hotaru turned to sneer at Yata. "I was talking about your crap people skills, not your crap _blow-job_ skills."

"_Y-YOU—_" When his face turned an impossibly deep shade of red, Hotaru smirked and turned back to Kamamoto, who was watching with growing discomfort along with Hibiki.

"Y-You know… maybe you should, um, change your wording, Hotaru-san…"

"What's wrong with my words?"

"They can be interpreted in many ways."

She grinned and looped an arm around his beefier, more-toned one and pulled him closer. In a hushed, conspirational tone, she whispered, "_That's the point_."

He sighed. "Right…" She laughed and drew him along, and, reluctantly, he followed. After a moment or two, so did Yata and Hibiki.

"Rikio-kun, you gotta make life as interesting as you can, else you'll wanna die cuz the boredom is so… _depressing_. Now, c'mon. We gotta little girl to find." It'd be easy, right? How many doll-like girls in red Goth Lolitas could there be in just one city?

**OxO**

"_How many doll-like girls in red Goth Lolitas could there be in just one city?_" Hotaru snapped, stomping away from the Goth Lolita doll with blond hair—the white had been a _wig!_—and her father the lolicon.

Yata smirked at her as she strode up to him and Hibiki. "Hah, now who's the one with crap people skills?" He cried out when Hotaru flicked him in the forehead with a fist.

"Shut up, dumbass _chibi_."

"C-Calm down, Hotaru," said Hibiki. "W-We still have lots of other people to ask, see…?"

"That's _exactly_ my point. And I'm not _angry_, Hibiki, I'm annoyed."

"What's the difference?" Yata muttered, rubbing the spot she'd _lightly_ punched.

She rolled her eyes. "You'll know, dumbass. Trust me."

They all stared when she started unzipping the grey hoodie she'd borrowed. In response, she raised a red brow and gave them a coy smile. "Enjoying the show, boys?"

"Uh…"

"A-As if, d-damn transgender!"

"Hotaru, why're you…?"

"It's _hot_, Hibiki," Hotaru grumbled, flapping the sides of the hoodie so her sweaty skin would cool down a bit. "It's only February, and it's so damn _hot_."

"Actually… that's probably just you." When she gave him a blank look, Kamamoto sighed. "The heat. It's probably just a manifestation of your power as the Red King."

Hotaru snickered. "So I'm in _heat_, huh. Nice to know your opinion of me, Rikio-kun."

"Hotaru!"

"Kidding, Hibiki. You worry too much. C'mon, Rikio-kun, we need to go find that girl." She looked around and walked them over to the closest person she could find, which happened to be an old lady more greatly endowed than Hotaru's chest, ass, and hips put together.

When Hotaru nudged him in the side, Kamamoto coughed and started talking. "A-Afternoon, ma'am. M-Mind if we asked you some questions…?"

What little patience Hotaru had died the old lady narrowed her eyes at them, taking in their clothes—mainly her bando and shorts, Kamamoto's chains and rings—and sniffing. "Off with you hooligans. I don't have any money for you to steal, and if you try to touch me I swear I will _scream_ bloody murder." Anger, the kind that she kept bottled up inside so that it wouldn't destructively surface, flooded from the recesses of her heart, and Hotaru felt her body temperature increase as the now-familiar powers she'd gotten—the powers of the Red King—flooded her senses.

"Ma'am, we don't—" Hotaru cut him off with a hand, and, before he could do anything to stop her, she shoved him aside and put her face right up next to the old hag's. She grinned when the woman took a small step back, flinching from the sudden heat source.

"Listen here, old lady." She spoke in an even tone and looked the old hag right in the rheumatic eye. "We don't want any of the pathetic shit you have on you. We're just looking for our little girl, bout eleven or so, white hair, in a red Goth Lolita. Seen her or not?"

A scowl spread across the lower half of her face when the woman's wizened old face tightened even further. "People your age shouldn't be having such young children."

Hotaru sneered. "People _your_ age shouldn't be having such big breast implants." The leer on her face grew when two splotches of red—not _nearly_ as good-looking as Yata's strawberries—appeared on the hag's suddenly pasty white face.

"Of all the—you _stupid_ girl."

"_You stupid,_ stupid_ girl!"_

"Is that any way to speak to your _elders?_"

"C'mon," Hotaru snorted. When she pulled on Kamamoto's arm, the young man flinched from the heat of her hand, which he hadn't been expecting. "We're wasting our time."

She turned and started to walk away, but the old lady's next words made her stop. "The pair of _you_ are a waste of time, one that'll never amount to anything."

"_You're never going to amount to anything. Even a dirty stray dog would be useful, but you—you're not even _that_. You're more like those annoying flies that buzz around the refuse of the useless dog that's better off dead."_

With a derisive snort, she swiveled around and planted her hands on her hips. "Better to be a good-for-nothing than some supposedly important _dumbass_ whose death goes unnoticed in the end."

Her eyes narrowed when the white-haired witch barked, "It's people like _you_ whose death would go unnoticed."

"_You're nobody, a good-for-nothing whose death will go unnoticed."_

Hotaru opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, Hibiki appeared, flushed and furious. "Y-You… I can't believe you just said that!"

"Hibiki—"

"You don't know anything about her, so why would you say such mean things, ma'am?"

Hotaru blinked and did a double-take at the "ma'am" part, and so did the lady.

"Y-You don't know anything about her, about—about _us_. Who are you to judge our worth? You're nothing to us, so your judgment is _worth_ nothing, too!"

The old lady's face had turned a frightening, unattractive shade of purple by now. "Y-You… you're just as shameless and disrespectful as that chit! How two such bad-mannered people could possibly _exist_…"

"_Remember that, fly—your sin. It is existing and living a shameless life that is a disrespect to all other things living."_

"How someone who's supposed to be a pillar of the family could be so cold and heartless is my question," Hotaru muttered, scowling. Her scowl froze, though, when Hibiki grabbed her hand and pulled her away. She grinned when they started running.

"Come on, Hotaru! Y-You—you don't need to listen to this, not again!"

"It's fine, Hibiki—it doesn't bother me." Not in a way that really mattered.

"No, Hotaru, it—it's _not_ fine!" His voice cracked, and Hotaru's grin dimmed somewhat. Her energy didn't, though. Just underneath her skin, she felt it still, the power, buzzing with electric heat. Wanting release.

Just for a second, she was tempted to just let it out. See how that old lady would like it, her _worth_ in the form of fiery flames and heat.

Hibiki's words stopped her train of thought, though. "I-I'm so sorry, H-Hotaru…!"

She threw back her head and laughed. "_Why?_"

"I-I promised, remember? That I—I wouldn't… wouldn't let you get hurt…!"

"I'm _fine_, Hibiki—not hurt at all. Especially not emotionally." Old wounds still ached, but not with the potency they'd first had. But she wasn't going to tell him that and ruin his mood altogether.

There was a small pause, and then he jerked to a stop. "You did it on purpose, didn't you."

"Did what?"

"That word thing Kamamoto was talking about earlier."

She looked away when he turned his head to her, but she couldn't stop the smirk from gracing her lips. "Maybe." When Hibiki sighed, she smiled broadly and tackled him in a hug. "What's wrong, Hibiki?"

"H-Hotaru, you—you made me yell at someone! Some _old lady_, too…!"

"C'mon, no needa be so sad about it. She was a prejudice, cold-hearted bitch. Besides, I didn't _tell_ you to do it. You yelled at her yourself, remember?" She grinned when Hibiki's face fell. "Still…" She tackled the unsuspecting boy in an enormously affectionate hug. "…Thanks for standing up for me, Hibiki." It was nice, "_heart-warming_" actually, to know that she now had someone who'd care if she died. A pang shot through her heart. She hadn't, before…

"_I think… my death would go unnoticed. What do you think, -?"_

…or had she?

Her fingers wriggling around under Hibiki's shirt accidentally grazed the skin above his stomach, and—

She smiled as the feeling of discontent disappeared, but why she'd been feeling so down in the first place was a mystery.

**OvO**

**That musta been one stick up that old lady's ass, to jus randomly start laying in on people. Feelin like that scene needed a little more work, but… dunno. If it seems like it couldn't possibly have happened, even in the world of anime, feel free to tell me so I can fix it up ;D**

**I forgot that she's supposed to say "dumbass," hence its reappearance in full force.**

**I rescind my statement made prior, in… chapter 8-9? 10? Damn military terms, so confusing. I always thought captain was lower than lieutenant. Good thing I haven't had Munakata appear yet… mighta accidentally made him Seri's subordinate if I did, hahah…**

**Also… CHESTNUUUT. YATA HAS CHESTNUT HAIR, BUT—I LIKE REDHEADS. So… screw that. Too late to change it naow, anyways!**

**All the HOMRA members look cuter in Memory of Red than the actual anime… Especially Shohei.**

**Didn't know what month the anime was in at the end, had to look up when it snows in Japan… Oh wells if I'm off.**


End file.
